How to Conduct Gemba Walks Effectively

“Gemba Walks, we used to do them, but we stopped” reflected a leader that I was recently talking to. “I guess that it ran out of steam” they went on to say. This individual knew that when the Gemba Walks had been done well, they had delivered real tangible benefits for their organization. However, results/outputs from the Gemba Walk had been inconsistent and with variable outputs, those performing the Gemba Walk started to question the benefit of doing so which ultimately led to the activity ‘running out of steam’.

What is a Gemba Walk and Why are Gemba Walks Important?

The conversation planted the seed for this blog but first, let’s start with what a Gemba Walk is. ‘Gemba’ is Japanese for ‘on-site’ when entered into Google Translate. Others will translate the word to the real place, or actual place and many think about Gemba as the place where value is created or where the work is done. If we take the latter, it makes sense for leaders to regularly visit the place where the work is done. Doing so would have numerous benefits:

• Enabling leaders to see for themselves some of the great things that are happening on their factory floors, in their offices, in their laboratories, their warehouses and other places where the work is being done
• Leaders would also witness first hand some of the challenges their employees face when trying to get the work done in the safest, most efficient manner
• The Leaders presence in these areas can be a real morale booster, lets face it - none of us like a leader who doesn’t know how to find their way to where the work is carried out!
• Improvement opportunities can be actioned there and then, leaders have the power to make or enable things to happen
• Being present is a coaching opportunity. It fosters a culture of people that promote continuous improvement, talking about changing things for the better becomes infectious
  
  

Why Do Organisations Stop Doing Regular Gemba Walks?

There are many, many more benefits too, so why do organisations stop doing Gemba Walks? Why did this organization run out of steam? I believe this is down to two things leaders can sometimes get wrong: (i) what the leaders do during the Gemba Walk and (ii) what the leaders don’t do during a Gemba Walk….

One of the biggest pitfalls I’ve witnessed leaders fall into when undertaking Gemba Walks is that the walk itself ultimately becomes a ‘to do’ list making exercise. Leaders have the best of intentions, they visit Gemba with an aspiration to make things better. Better for the business and better for the employees in the area. However, the output from the Gemba Walk is a list of things that the leader needs to do or delegate another leader to do. The problem with this is that these lists snowball, they become wish lists, they are filed in that to do tray and never get actioned. The leaders are keen to practice walking the Gemba, so they go out again in a weeks’ time and do the same thing again. The list gets bigger and not a single person sees or feels a benefit for it. Eventually employees lose faith, because let’s face it, if nothing gets done, we’d all lose interest in participating! The leader begins to see that the employee is disinterested and questions whether regular Gemba Walks are the right things to do. Gemba Walks cease to happen, and the experience is a bad one.

Another issue is how some Gemba Walks are executed. There can be an eagerness to ‘get stuff done’ so the leader makes or instigates changes that haven’t been thought through, or involved those that are going to be on the receiving end of the change. Either the improvement is ineffective, employees don’t understand the changes, or the employees simply don’t appreciate continuous improvement being done to them. Again, the Gemba Walk is seen as disruptive and fails to deliver sustainable improvements.

What Leads to Negative Experiences with Gemba Walks?

When I think about negative Gemba Walk experiences in context of what some leaders don’t do, several thoughts come to mind. Firstly, leaders can sometimes forget the shadow they cast, the impact of what they say and how they say it. They fail to appreciate the uneasiness that some individuals have around managers or people in authoritative roles. So, it’s important to communicate well with employees; communicate why you are there. Discuss the purpose of the Gemba Walk. Explain why employee input is so vital. Provide details of the mechanics of the Gemba Walk. Relay what will the follow up will look like and crucially be able to answer the ‘what’s in it for me question’. So, putting the employee at ease and heading off any potential mistrust at the start will set the leader(s) up with a greater chance of success. When communication is poor or doesn’t exist, Gemba Walks will again get a bad press and eventually stop. Think about your communication. How will feedback be relayed to the employees. How will you discuss the learning points and communicate why certain decisions have made…...

Another gap is the discipline of ‘doing what you said you would do.’ Now if the Gemba Walks are not working or yielding the intended outputs, it’d be foolish not to change some things. However, when leaders stop doing the Gemba Walks or are inconsistent with their schedule (if they have one!) it sends employees mixed messages at best and at worst some definitive negative messages. So, when looking to introduce or reintroduce Gemba Walks consider the leader’s or leadership team’s ability to do what they said they would do. If necessary, start small, model the process, expand, and scale once the model phase is working well and you know what works for you, and your organization.

The 7 Step PDCA Cycle for an Effective Gemba Walk Process

When working with leadership teams to stand up their Gemba Walk process I follow a 7 step PDCA cycle.

Step One – Establish a Gemba Walk Timetable by Theme

Determine the following key pieces of information:

• What themes are important to our business? What is/ Where are the win(s)? Housekeeping, Safety, Waste are some of the themes that may be of interest to you
• Consider different Gemba areas within your organisation; linked to the win, but also give some thought to engaging with the teams within your business
• Determine what frequency will be required to deliver the win
• Determine what frequency is manageable, remember, you can grow this process!
  
  

Step Two – Communicate the Gemba Walk Timetable

Schedule your Gemba Walk and post the timetable in places where it makes sense. Certainly, in the host areas, but also in areas where the leaders reside. Posting the timetable will act as a trigger.

Step Three – Assign Pairs or Teams

Determine who is going to execute the Gemba Walk(s) and when. Think about balancing skills, knowledge, and experience. Leaders should add these walks to their Leaders Standard Work.

Step Four – Follow the Gemba Walk Timetable

Go live! Remember everything you say and do or don’t say and do is seen or heard by your team(s). It’s one of the challenges of being a leader. Be consistent in completing the Gemba Walks and everything else that you said that you would do as a leader.

Step Five – Work with the Host(s) to Identify Process Improvement Opportunities

Remember, being the leader doesn’t mean you have to have all the answers. In fact, it means leaving space for others’ insights, listening intently, and fostering an environment where ideas flourish. Don’t lose sight of why you are at Gemba and why you are engaging with people in their space. Be collaborative and identify the opportunities for improvement.

Step Six – Agree a Date and Time to Return to See What the Host Has Improved

Now this is the clever bit! I’d love to say it’s 100% my insight, but it isn’t. Mike Rother’s Toyota Kata book inspired this step and flipped the way that I’d traditionally thought about and performed the Gemba Walk (BTW…..that was me, the list maker mentioned earlier). By reversing my previous methodology, I began to see the benefit of actioning the host to deliver the improvement, rather than myself. Now this may not be instantaneous, don’t be surprised if the host hasn’t done anything when you return, you’re instigating a new practice. Habitual continuous improvement takes time. Empowering people to act won’t provide immediate responses, but if you really want to get all the proactive thinking, problem solving, smart, insightful people in your organisation making improvements you must empower them. They’ll need coaching on how to execute actions and will need support along the way.

Step Seven – Return to Evaluate the Improvements, Identify Further Opportunities & Recognise Excellence

Again, it’s that ‘D’ word, discipline. Go back as arranged. Make the return date visual in both the host area and where the leader resides. Go back, meet the same employees, see what’s been done.  Remember you learn from failures as well as successes. Failures are an opportunity to innovate and how the leader engages with the employee during these events is crucial to the ongoing engagement with the Gemba Walk process. Lastly, don’t forget to recognise employees. Recognise the behaviours you want your culture to be based on as well as the outputs.

Connect with PS by M to Conduct More Effective Gemba Walks and Improve Processes

Though there are many other ways to walk the Gemba, whatever you decide to do, don’t lose sight of the objectives, communicate, communicate, and communicate and empower people to act. If you and your team could use help from our expert team of manufacturing consultants, connect with our team today.  You can also learn more about our manufacturing consulting services on the following pages:

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